Editing Invertebrate (section)

== Number of extant species ==

By far the largest number of described invertebrate species are insects. The following table lists the number of described [[Extant taxa|extant]] species for major invertebrate groups as estimated in the [[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]], 2014.3.<ref name=IUCN1014>The World Conservation Union. 2014. ''[[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]]'', 2014.3. Summary Statistics for Globally Threatened Species. [http://cmsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/summarystats/2014_3_Summary_Stats_Page_Documents/2014_3_RL_Stats_Table_1.pdf Table 1: Numbers of threatened species by major groups of organisms (1996–2014)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224091921/http://cmsdocs.s3.amazonaws.com/summarystats/2014_3_Summary_Stats_Page_Documents/2014_3_RL_Stats_Table_1.pdf |date=24 February 2015 }}.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Invertebrate group
! Phylum
! Image
! Estimated number of<br />described species<ref name=IUCN1014 />
|-
| [[Insects]]
| [[Arthropoda]]
| [[File:European wasp white bg02.jpg|100px]] 
| align=right | 1,000,000
|-
| [[Arachnids]]
| [[Arthropoda]]
| [[File:PlatycryptusUndatusFemale.jpg|100px]]
| align=right | 102,248
|-
| [[Gastropod]]s
| [[Mollusca]]
| [[File:Grapevinesnail 01.jpg|100px]] 
| align=right | 85,000
|-
| [[Crustacean]]s
| [[Arthropod]]s
| [[File:J J Wild Pseudocarcinus cropped.jpg|100px]]
| align=right | 47,000
|-
| [[Bivalve]]s
| [[Mollusca]]
| [[File:Argopecten_irradians.jpg|100px]] 
| align=right | 20,000
|-
| [[Anthozoa|Sea anemones,<br/>corals, sea pens]]
| [[Cnidaria]]
| [[File:Coral_Outcrop_Flynn_Reef.jpg|100px]] 
| align=right | 2,175
|-
| [[Cephalopod]]s
| [[Mollusca]]
| [[File:Sepia_officinalis1.jpg|100px]] 
| align=right | 900
|-
| [[Velvet worms]]
| [[Onychophora]]
| [[File:Velvet worm.jpg|100px]] 
| align=right | 165
|-
| [[Horseshoe crabs]]
| [[Arthropod]]s
| [[File:Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda (mangrove horseshoe crab).jpg|100px]]
| align=right | 4
|-
| Others<br/><small>[[jellyfish]], [[echinoderm]]s,<br/>[[sponge]]s, etc.</small>
| —
| —
| align=right | 68,658
|-
|
|
! align=right | Total:
! align=right | ~1,300,000
|}

The [[IUCN]] estimates that 66,178 [[Vertebrate#Number of extant species|extant vertebrate species]] have been described,<ref name=IUCN1014 /> which means that over 95% of the described animal species in the world are invertebrates.